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Massachusetts largest conservation and preservation organization will waive paid entry and parking fees to several of its most popular destinations, including Crane Beach, World's End and Monument Mountain.

Boston, MA (PRWEB)November 24, 2015

The Trustees, Massachusetts’ largest conservation and preservation nonprofit, today announced that the organization will waive paid entry and parking fees at several of their most popular properties, including Crane Beach in Ipswich, World’s End in Hingham, and Monument Mountain in Great Barrington in support of REI’s Black Friday #OptOutside Campaign. The Trustees encourage families and friends to take the time after Thanksgiving before the holiday rush to connect in the great outdoors together.

“We applaud REI for taking this important stand to be closed on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year,” says Barbara Erickson, Trustees President & CEO. “By inviting the nation to #OptOutside and reconnect with family and friends during this time of gratitude, this sends a message about what is most important at this time of year. We are excited to show our support for their campaign by offering free entry and parking at some of our most visited outdoor sites and making them more accessible for more people to get out and be active together.”

A long-time partner of The Trustees in Massachusetts, REI offers a large number of outdoor, recreation-based programs year-round on Trustees properties. The Trustees preserves and protects iconic scenic, natural, cultural, and agricultural places around the state for the public to enjoy. The two organizations’ missions align with a focus on inspiring people to disconnect from their busy, digitized lives and embrace a healthy, active lifestyle.

On the day after Thanksgiving , The Trustees will offer free entry at its three gated properties, which include Crane Beach in Ipswich, Worlds End in Hingham, and Bartholomew’s Cobble, a National Natural Landmark in Sheffield. It will also waive parking fees at its five sites with parking kiosks which also includes Bartholomew’s Cobble, as well as Monument Mountain in Great Barrington, Norris Reservation in Norwell, Appleton Grass Rides in Hamilton, and Rocky Woods in Medfield. Free entry does not include public programming or historic house tours. For the rest of the year, Trustees members receive discounted entry to gated sites and free parking. A majority of The Trustees 114 properties offer free entry to all, year-round.

In addition, The Trustees invites Massachusetts visitors and residents to share their stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as they explore the organization’s beautiful woodland trails, beaches, parks, farms and properties located around the state.

“REI is excited and grateful to The Trustees for the support of the #OptOutside movement, says Leigh Jackson-Magennis, Boston Area Manager for REI Outdoor Programs. “We are thrilled that The Trustees has moved to support getting people outside for the Holiday by graciously opening up their gates and properties to support families getting outside together. We celebrate your support and will see each other (and our families) out there!”

To learn more about REI’s OptOutside campaign and find places to visit in your area, as recommended by their employees, visit optoutside.rei.com . The Trustees’ iconic Crane Beach is listed as one of the locations in Massachusetts. For a Trustees property near you, visit http://www.thetrustees.org and for holiday programs, visit: http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/.

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The Trustees preserve and care for some of the best of Massachusetts’ natural, scenic, and cultural sites for the public to use and enjoy. Our passion is to engage more people in culture, agriculture, nature, and healthy, active lifestyles, using our properties, our community spaces, and our many programs as a powerful and compelling platform to connect people to places and each other in our increasingly digitized world. As the Commonwealth’s largest conservation and preservation organization and nation’s first land trust founded in 1891, we believe in protecting the irreplaceable for everyone, forever. Today, we care for 113 spectacular and diverse reservations spanning more than 26,000 acres– from working farms, landscaped and urban gardens, and community parks, to barrier beaches, forests, campgrounds, inns and historic sites, many of which are National Historic Landmarks – located within minutes of every resident. We are also the founding partner of the Boston Public Market, the first all locally-sourced indoor market of its kind in the nation where we operate our Appleton Farms vendor booth and are the programming partner for the Market’s demonstration KITCHEN where we run culinary, health and wellness programs. Funded by our more than 100,000 members and supporters and 1.2 million visitors, we invite you to get out, get inspired, and find magic in the moment at a Trustees property near you: http://www.thetrustees.org